


Recovery

by blackcoffeeandteardrops



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-05-13 02:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14740676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcoffeeandteardrops/pseuds/blackcoffeeandteardrops
Summary: In the aftermath of Infinity War, Tony and Pepper find a moment's reprieve before they pick up the fight against Thanos again.





	Recovery

The first thing Tony is aware of upon waking is the steady buzz of energy, the subtle hum of electricity bringing life to things around him. The second thing is a bright light that greets him as he opens his eyes. He blinks, taking in the sterile white ceiling above him, frowning in confusion as he grasps for purchase, feeling soft fabric rather than the rough terrain of Titan below him.

“Tony? Tony, can you hear me?”

The voice comes at him as if through a fog, growing steadier until suddenly Pepper’s face appears in his line of sight. Oh, god, Pepper. “Hi,” he says, and suddenly reality comes crashing back. Getting stabbed by Thanos with a piece of his own shrapnel, holding Peter in his arms as the boy dissolved into ash, but seeing Pepper before him gives him pause. “Pep, it's not safe here, you've got to--”

Pepper reaches for his shoulders, effectively blocking his attempt to sit up before it starts. “You're safe here. It's okay,” she says, cupping his cheek with her palm. 

He nods, not entirely believing it even as he brings his hand up to cover hers, lacing their fingers together. He licks his lips, realizing for the first time since waking how parched he is. “Are we--” he pauses, afraid to finish the thought. He's already lost so much, but if he dissolved himself, at least he was given enough mercy that allowed her to be there with him. He winces, feeling guilt mix with the pain from his wound, and he tries adjusting the pillow resting under his head. Of anyone, she deserves to live. 

“We're in Wakanda,” Pepper says, halting his movements as she takes over pillow adjusting duties, raising an eyebrow. “Comfortable? You need to lie still. They were able to heal you, but you're not out of the woods yet.”

“Wakanda?” Tony asks, confusion mixing with relief. Somehow, they've both managed to survive. “What happened, Pep?”

She sighs, tracing his brow with her fingertips before planting a kiss against his forehead, as if touching him will give her more proof that he's real. “What happened? You did something incredibly stupid, that's what happened.”

Tony nods in agreement, immediately regretting his decision to move. “You're gonna have to be more specific, honey.”

She perches herself on the edge of the bed, glancing towards the window as tears brim her eyes, looking back at him only as his hand gives hers a squeeze. “I went to the tower as soon as I knew you were on that stupid ship. I tried contacting as many people as I could. I didn’t exactly understand what was happening, but I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure it was safe,” she says, shaking her head as a tear slips down her cheek, and breaking her hand away from his to wipe it away. “Happy’s gone, Tony. I was talking to him one moment, but the next, he just dissolved. It was the strangest thing.”

“No,” he says, the word little more than a breath of air from his lips. He closes his eyes, thinking of the people he watched disappear right before him, and he doesn’t have to guess at the emotions that have gone through her. “Who else?”

The look on his face betrays the fact he’s afraid of her answer. Still, Pepper clears her throat and starts telling him everything she knows, about who they lost and who is still alive, and as much as she knows he needs his rest, she can’t bring herself to stop touching him, needing constant proof that he’s real and not just a figment of her imagination born out of days upon days of worrying about his whereabouts. “It was Rhodey who sent for me in New York. He figured it would be safer here, not to mention I’d be of more use. I couldn’t just sit at home, Tony. I couldn’t just wait and worry and--”

“Pepper Potts, unable to sit still and do nothing? Color me shocked,” Tony says, half his mouth lifting into a smile. Relief washes over him when he earns the slightest smirk in response, but his eyes darken upon realizing what he hasn’t told her. “I told the kid to go home, but he didn’t listen. He shouldn’t have been there, but he was, and--”

“I know,” Pepper replies, sparing him the burden of having to say it out loud. “The woman you were with is...interesting to say the least. She told me about what happened to Peter. I’m so sorry.”

He opens his mouth to say it’s okay, but closes it, because there’s no way it’s okay, and he doesn’t know when or if things will ever approach “okay” again. “I need to call May. I need to tell her. I--”

“What you need to do is get some rest. You were stabbed, Tony. You can’t just jump back into action like that never happened,” Pepper replies, at last unleashing some of the frustration and anger she’s felt from the second he was whisked away after their run at the park. 

Tony lifts his shirt,wondering who’d taken the time to change it from the one that was surely caked with dirt and blood among other things, and he shifts his gaze to Pepper, hoping she was spared the sight of seeing him like that. He grazes the wound, still red and angry but nonetheless healing far faster than he might expect, thanks he supposes to Wakandan technology he’ll have to ask them about later. “Almost good as new,” he says, watching as she quirks a questioning eyebrow in response. “Hey, I said almost.”

She stares at him for a few seconds, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. “I’m not going to ask you not to fight, because I know it’s something you need to do.The others are already formulating a plan, and I’m sure you’ll want to include your input. But Tony?” she says, rushing the words out before she loses the courage to say them. The days of fearing she’d never see him again have taken a toll, leaving her exhausted and anxious at every turn. While being next to him is a relief she can’t describe, anxiety of everything they still have to face pools inside her. Still, she fixes a smile on her face, needing it to be enough. “When you come back--and I do mean when--you owe me dinner. I intend on collecting on that rain check.”

“That can be arranged,” he replies, meaning every word. He wants to tell her he owes her so much more than that, but before he can say anything else, she turns to leave. Moving far faster than he probably should, he reaches out for her hand, desperate to cling to the one person in his life that remains real and tangible and familiar. He knows some of his friends are elsewhere and waiting--including Steve, he thinks, finding it somewhat hilarious that it’s only taken the end of the world to make them work together again--but it’s not the same. “Where...where are you going?”

There’s a desperation in his voice she’s never heard before, and it’s almost enough to make her stay, but she knows his wounds need looking at, and she wants someone with more medical expertise than she has to be the one to do it. “I’m getting someone to come take a look at you. After that, you’re getting some rest. I mean it.”

“Can you get Rhodey in here? Or Bruce? Thor maybe, or hell, even Steve. I need--” he stops at the look on her face, daring him to continue but hoping he won’t. He holds up his hands in defeat before gesturing to the door. “I just want to be brought up to speed. But I get it. Later.”

Pepper nods, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to his lips, remembering all too well the time she spent thinking she’d never get to do that again. Once the others learn he’s awake, she doubts there’ll be any hopes of keeping them out for long. But they’re all weathered and weary from everything that’s happened, so she can’t help hoping they’ll get a break before picking back up and fighting once more. She rests her forehead against his, sensing somehow that they’re in the eye of the hurricane, but wanting to enjoy the calm while it lasts. Maybe it’s selfish, but when their lips reconnect, more eager this time, she finds she doesn’t care. 

“What happened to getting help?” he asks, not minding at all the way her hands cup his face or the way she can’t seem to break herself away, at least not yet. Before either of them can say or do anything else, they’re interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing coming from the direction of the door. 

“Pardon the intrusion. His vital signs indicated an increased heart rate, which suggested he was either in distress or awake. I wanted to take the opportunity to see if the protocol I set in place has accelerated the rate of recovery. May I?” Shuri asks, taking their joint silence as invitation. 

Pepper watches as he questions Shuri on the technology she used to heal him, sits by as a few others catch wind of the fact he’s awake and come in to see proof for themselves. They talk a little about what happened, pause and reflect on ones they’ve lost and discuss their plans to fix everything Thanos broke. It scares her more than just a little, knowing she could lose Tony so soon after getting him back, but she knows that now more than ever, this is something he along with the others have to do. Eventually everyone filters out of the room, eager to get some rest for the night, and her eyes focus back on Tony, hoping he’ll do the same. 

“You know I can’t sleep with you staring at me like that,” he says, intending for it to be a joke, only to see a glimmer of hurt flicker across her face. “Hey, come here.”

“I’m standing right here,” she says, gesturing to the bed he’s laying in, the side of which she’s leaning against.

“Yeah, I know, but that’s not what I meant,” he replies, patting the bed beside him. It’s more than enough room, but still he watches as she hesitates, and for perhaps the first time since waking he realizes just how haggard her appearance is. Her hair is still up in a signature ponytail, but tendrils have fallen out, hanging loose and framing her face. Her clothes are clean but rumpled, suggesting she’s worn them for quite a bit, and while she’s never been that big on makeup, he doubts that any amount of concealer would hide the shadows under her eyes. “Honey, when’s the last time you got some sleep?”

Pepper crosses her arms, shaking her head before replying. “I slept on the plane on the way here. I’m fine, but--”

“No, you’re not. Now come on, you’re not going to make me screw up Shuri’s handiwork by trying to forcibly pull you into bed, now are you?” Tony asks, relieved as Pepper settles in against him.

“You’ll tell me if you’re hurting, right?” she asks, only a hint of doubt creeping into her voice. He was stabbed by a piece of his own armor on another planet by a being who wiped half of the universe from existence with a single snap of his fingers, so she knows there’s no way Tony can’t be hurting, but she wants to be sure he’ll let on if it bothers him more than expected. “Tony?”

“Yeah, sorry,” he replies, blinking back the images that have haunted his dreams. “Every time I close my eyes, I see him. Peter apologized to me, Pep. Apologized for what? For dying? I don’t know if I can sleep.”

Pepper pushes herself up in bed just enough to look him in the eye. Again, she rests her palm against his cheek, sighing when he presses a kiss to her palm. Somehow, in spite of everything, they’ve both made it this far, and she wants to hold onto the moment as long as she can. “Try? For me. I’ll be here. And if anything goes wrong, I’m sure one of the alarms will sound off.”

His eyes grow heavy despite his hesitating to sleep, and he turns his head to face her. “You’re a smart woman, you know that? I think that’s why I’m marrying you. Which we are doing, by the way. I owe you far more than a rain check dinner after all this,” he says, meaning every word. He plans on getting as far away from the action as he can once it’s all through, even if he hasn’t quite figured out how just yet. 

She’s never needed the ring, and she knows he hasn’t needed it either. They’ve been as official as a couple could be without the legalities marriage would bring, but she’s reminded of the conversation in the park before all of this started. The baby in his dream was exactly that--a dream. Still, she thinks it wouldn’t be so bad if that dream would become reality, especially in light of all they’d endured. “Sleep,” she repeats, watching as his eyes open and close a few times, wondering how long he’ll fight it. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”


End file.
